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January 2006 Vol. 11 No. 1

“In actual life every great enterprise begins with and takes its first forward step in faith.”
- Friedrich Von Schlegel


Table of Contents:


AFPA’s Hilton Head Fitness Extravaganza XI, March 10-12,2006

Conveniently located along the south Atlantic coast, Hilton Head Island combines breathtaking natural beauty, world-class golf, award-winning dining, and quality shopping on a barrier island just 12 miles long and five miles wide. This enchanting boot-shaped island is widely considered to be one of the finest resort communities in the United States, welcoming millions of visitors from across the country and around the globe each year. We invite you to come to the Island!

TOPICS INCLUDE, BUT NOT LIMITED TO:

  • Specialty Pre-conference Certifications-Pilates, Yoga, Aqua, Arthritis and More!
  • Personal Training Sales, Service and Marketing for Success
  • Athletic Performance Training
  • Prehab/Rehab Training
  • Optimal Nutrition & Sports Nutrition
  • Youth Sports Training
  • Choreography, Step, Hip Hop
  • Specialty Populations
  • Program Design
  • Cardiovascular, Strength, Endurance, Resistance Training
  • Pilates, Power-Yoga, Flow-Yoga, Meditation
  • And So much More!!

WHO SHOULD ATTEND:
Those that desire to become a certified fitness professional; and program directors, youth and athletic coaches, physical therapists, yoga, pilates, fitness instructors, personal trainers, strength trainers, facility owners, sports conditioning specialist and nutrition consultants.


AFPA Fitness, Trainer, Sports & Mind Body Conference April 21-23, 2006

Roland E. Powell Convention Center, Ocean City, MD 4001 Coastal Highway, Ocean City MD 21842

TOPICS INCLUDE, BUT NOT LIMITED TO:

  • Specialty Pre-conference Certifications — Pilates, Yoga, Aqua, Arthritis and More!
  • Personal Training Sales, Service and Marketing for Success
  • Athletic Performance Training
  • Prehab/Rehab Training
  • Optimal Nutrition & Sports Nutrition
  • Youth Sports Training
  • Choreography, Step, Hip Hop
  • Specialty Populations
  • Program Design
  • Cardiovascular, Strength, endurance, Resistance Training
  • Pilates, Power Yoga, Flow-Yoga, Meditation
  • And So much More!!

AFPA Approves New Insurance Benefits Program

AFPA and Association Benefit Solutions, a subsidiary of The Diamond Companies, Inc. of Farmington Hills, Michigan have teamed up to offer members a new insurance benefits program. AFPA approved Association Benefit Solutions as a preferred vendor, offering competitive benefit packages that will help you hire the best, most qualified employees.

Not only does this program offer a wide variety of traditional and managed care health plans (HMO, Point-Of-Service, PPO and Indemnity), but it also offers dental, vision and disability coverage’s for groups or individuals. Plan features include:

  • National recognized insurance carriers
  • Rate advantage
  • Aggressive underwriting
  • Central billing and administration

Association Benefit Solutions will help you design and implement a program to best meet your needs.

For more information on this exciting new association-sponsored program, visit the AFPA internet site and click on Free Online Quotes Insurance Benefits Program Health Insurance AFPA Members or call Bernard Rubenstein, Association Benefit Solutions at 800/536-2230 extension 125.


The Bottom Line

  • Face it, Nobody owes you a living. What you achieve or fail to achieve in your lifetime is directly related to what you do, or fail to do.
  • No one chooses his parents or childhood, but you can choose your own direction. Everyone has problems and obstacles to overcome, but that too is relative to each individual.
  • Nothing is carved in stone, you can change anything in your life, if you want to badly enough.
  • Excuses are for losers; Those who take responsibility for their actions are the real winners in life.
  • Winners meet life’s challenges head on knowing there are no guarantees and give it all they’ve got.
  • And never think it’s too late or too early to begin. Time plays in favorites and will pass whether you act or not.

Take Control of Your Life.

Dare to dream and take risks … Compete.If you are not willing to work for your goals do not expect others to. Believe in Yourself


Get Some Sun and Breathe Better!

Vitamin D New findings indicate that vitamin D could help make it easier to breathe. People with higher levels of the vitamin in their systems had better lung function.

For the study, data was collected on over 14,000 people over a period of 6 years. Those who had higher levels of vitamin D were able to inhale and exhale more air. The study also found that levels of the vitamin were higher in men, and tended to lessen as people aged or gained weight.

Vitamin D can be found in certain foods, as well as dietary supplements, but most people obtain it from sunlight. The exact relationship between the vitamin and lung health is still unclear.

Recent studies have also suggested that Vitamin D may help strengthen bones, prevent some cancers, and help protect against multiple sclerosis.

Chest December 2005; 128(6): 3792-3798
Yahoo News December 12, 2005


How Heart-Healthy is Alcohol?

Wine Although past research suggests that drinking a glass or two of wine a day may have some heart benefits, new findings suggest that those studies were flawed.

Risks Outweigh the Benefits

There is some evidence that heavier drinking provides heart protection alcoholics have relatively “clean” arteries—but the other health risks of heavy drinking outweigh the benefits.

Early observations in the 1970s and 1980s seemed to indicate a 20 to 25 percent reduction in heart disease risk linked to light drinking.

However, the way those studies were carried out did not allow researchers to say with certainty that the findings could not be due to factors other than alcohol consumption.

Diet, Exercise, Quit Smoking

The British Heart Foundation responded to the new evidence by saying that their advice remained the same: “… the best way to reduce the risk of heart disease is to quit smoking if you smoke, increase levels of physical activity and eat a healthy balanced diet.”
BBC News December 2, 2005


Tylenol Most Common Cause of Liver Failure

Tylenol Acetaminophen poisoning is now the most common cause of acute liver failure in the United States. Attempted suicides account for many cases, but almost half are the result of unintentional overdose.

Unintentional Overdose Worse Than Intentional. Some 36 percent of Americans take acetaminophen at least once a month, making it the most widely used pain reliever in the United States.

Taking more than the recommended dose, however, can lead to fatal liver injury. And those who had unintentionally taken overdoses usually have even worse outcomes than those who has done so intentionally, since unintentional overdoses are usually not recognized as such immediately.

Cases Nearly Doubled Over Five Years

Researchers examined the case histories of almost 700 liver-failure patients over a six-year period. They found that:

Cases of acute liver failure blamed on acetaminophen use rose sharply from 28 percent in 1998 to 51 percent five years later. More patients overdosed unintentionally on acetaminophen (48 percent) than did so intentionally (44 percent).

Sixty-three percent who accidentally overdosed used a prescription acetaminophen compound while 38 percent had been taking two acetaminophen meds at the same time. Some patients had been taking less than 4 grams of acetaminophen daily before their livers failed.

As Little as 7.5 Grams Per Day

The data suggests that consistent use of as little as 7.5 grams of acetaminophen a day may be hazardous. Rather than resulting in chronic illness, acetaminophen injury has a threshold of safety that, when exceeded, can have immediate and devastating results.

Hepatology December 2005; 42(6): 1364-1372
EurekAlert November 29, 2005


Linking Your Cholesterol to Stress

Stress! Your body’s reaction to stress may raise your odds of developing high cholesterol.

Chronic Stress and Heart Disease

A new study has shown that middle-aged adults, if their cholesterol rose in response to a stressful task, were more likely to develop high cholesterol years later. Several studies have shown a connection between chronic stress and heart disease; it’s possible that stress-related cholesterol changes may contribute to this.

Three-Year Study

Researchers tracked almost 200 middle-aged adults. At the start of the study, participants performed stressful tasks, and their blood cholesterol was measured before and after. Three years later, their blood cholesterol was measured again. Those who had the greatest cholesterol response to stress were also the most likely to have high cholesterol 13 Times More Likely

It was determined that:

The group with the highest stress response was 13 times more likely than the group with the lowest response to develop high cholesterol. They were also four times more likely to have high levels of LDL cholesterol

Modifying Response with Stress Management

Changes in metabolism in response to stress may ultimately cause the liver to boost production of LDL particles. Stress can also temporarily limit the body’s clearance of cholesterol from the blood.

It’s possible that such effects could be modified if people changed their conscious responses using stress management techniques.

MSNBC November 29, 2005
Health Psychology November 2005; 24(6)


A Dangerous Solution For Relieving Stress: Consuming Sweets

Sweets Eating sweets may decrease the production of the stress-related hormone glucocorticoid. This hormone has been linked both to obesity and to decreased immune response.

Researchers gave adult male rats small amounts of sugar drink, artificially sweetened drink, or water. After two weeks, the rats were given a physical and psychological stress challenge. Rats on the sugar drink regimen produced lower glucocorticoid levels than those that drank either the water or the artificially sweetened beverage.

The next step in the research will be to determine exactly how the sweetened drinks are decreasing glucocorticoid production, including whether there are parts of the brain that control response to stress, and if they are affected by sugar.

Science Daily November 28, 2005
University of Cincinnati Medical Center November 15, 2005


Obesity Before Pregnancy Linked to Childhood Weight Problems
A study by Ohio State University

A child’s weight may be influenced by his mother even before he is actually born, according to new research. Results of the study, which included more than 3,000 children, suggest that a child is far more likely to be overweight at a very young age — at 2 or 3 years old — if his mother was overweight or obese before she became pregnant. A child is also at greater risk of becoming overweight if he is born to a black or Hispanic mother, or to a mother who smoked during her pregnancy.

And there’s a good chance that an overweight child will stay overweight for the rest of his or her life. http://pregnancyandbaby.com/read/articles/5792.htm

Selected segments are reproduced from Dr. Mercola’s excellent website:
http://www.mercola.com/index.htmPhysicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
http://www.pcrm.org